According to the rules, you can hit the volleyball with any part of your body, whether it is your foot, your head, your chest, or your shoulders. As long as you don’t catch or grab the ball, you can legally hit it with your foot.
Even though hitting the ball with your foot might not be the best play in most situations, learning how to use it allows you to perform impressive plays. However, there are many rules that you need to learn in order to correctly execute this move.
Rules That Influence Hitting the Ball With Your Foot in Volleyball
There are a lot of rules that can affect this move, which is why it is often not the best way to hit the ball. These rules influence hitting the volleyball with your foot:
Carry
A carry occurs when the player either has extended contact with the volleyball or it just accidentally catches it. This is a common mistake that many players commit while handling the ball and it is considered a rule violation.
When kicking the volleyball, this one has to immediately bounce out of your feet for it to be a legal hit. If it stays for more than a couple of seconds, then it might be considered a carry, and you can lose the point.
To avoid this, you need to simply put your foot right under the ball while trying to hit it, this will allow the volleyball to bump on your feet. Additionally, you should not swing your leg, this would either send the ball out of the court or be considered a carry.
Touches
The teams can only touch the volleyball a total of three times, after that, they need to send it to the other side of the net. If the team mistakenly touches the ball a fourth time, it is considered a rule violation. This can be avoided if the players are encouraged to perform volleyball drills for improving communication.
If you want to kick the ball, you need to take into consideration that it counts as a touch. This means that your teammates only have two touches left to send the ball into the opponent’s court.
Since kicking the ball is not an accurate move, it could disorganize your team and make them touch the ball more than three times. This will ultimately make you lose a point.
When Should You Hit the Ball With Your Foot?
Many coaches agree that this is not a move that should be used nor practiced. After all, most of the time that a player kicks a volleyball it ends up outside of the court. However, there is a very specific situation where you can use this move correctly.
Saving the Volleyball With Your Feet
This move should only be used as a last resort to save a very difficult ball. Since your legs are stronger and longer than your arms, you can perform an incredible save that might help your team win a point.
However, you should only do this if you cannot reach the volleyball with a normal bump or a dig. Even though kicking the ball allows you to have quick contact, it is not the most efficient nor safest way of hitting it. If you do it incorrectly, you can suffer an ankle sprain.
Additionally, if players start using this technique too often, they might get accustomed to it which is bad in the long run. This can damage the mind of the athlete by making him think more with his feet, ultimately decreasing his hands’ efficiency and accuracy.
Conclusion
Hitting the volleyball with your feet can be a great way of saving a difficult ball. However, it should only be performed under very specific situations that require emergency moves. In any other case, you should always try to hit the ball with your hands instead of your legs.
